The Microscope Mystery

The Beilis Case

April 1917 •Russian

Ukrainian silent courtroom drama about the trial on charges of Menachem Mendel Beilis in the ritual murder of 12-year-old Andrey Yushchinsky. Menahem Mendel Beilis was a Ukrainian Jew accused of ritual murder in Kyiv, in the then Russian Empire, in a notorious 1913 trial, known as the Beilis trial or Beilis affair.

A dada

February 1920 •Hungarian

Passione tsigana

January 1916 •Italian

Smarrita!

January 1921 •Italian

Ravished Armenia

January 1919 •English

A Hollywood biographical film about a survivor's experience of the Armenian Genocide. Arshaluys (Aurora) Mardiganian plays herself in the film which is based on her published memoirs. It is thought to be the first film about made about genocide. All known complete copies of the film have been lost. A restored and edited 24-minute segment of the historic motion picture was released in 2009 by the Armenian Genocide Resource Center of Northern California. It is based on a rare surviving reel of film edited in Soviet Armenia.

By Right of Birth

June 1921 •English

Based on a story told by George Johnson, featuring Booker T. Washington. Only four minutes survive.

Arkasha Is Getting Married

January 1917 •Russian

The Enemy

December 1927 •English

Carl Behrend, son of a wealthy businessman, marries Pauli Arndt, daughter of a pacifist professor. When World War I breaks out, Carl is drafted. Pauli and her family and friends are left behind to experience the suffering which befell civilians during the war. Her luck worsens when her father is dismissed from his professorship for teaching that war is evil. Her father argues violently with Carl's father, and degradation and despair descend on Pauli and her family as they await Carl's return from the front.

A Star Is Born

October 1954 •English

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

The Bicycle Flirt

March 1928 •English

Billy is a professional deadbeat who prefers to ride his bicycle instead of work. His wife's brother, Henry, puts pressure on his sister to leave Billy, telling her to find a man who is more industrious.

The Girl from Nowhere

August 1928 •English

Dress shop owner, Tillie Tucker, lands a job at a Hollywood film studio and brings her boyfriend and employee, Miss Boyle, out West.

The Thrill Chaser

November 1923 •English

In this partially lost silent film, a man working as a motion picture extra in Hollywood westerns impresses a visiting sheikh with his boxing skills and is engaged to go to Arabia, where he becomes involved in warring and falls in love with a beautiful princess.

The Wolf of Wall Street

February 1929 •English

A ruthless stockbroker sells short in the copper business and ruins the life of his friends by ruining their finances.

Rivals

April 1929 •Russian

Two young women fight over the love of a hunter.

Tough Luck

December 1919 •

A comedy short featuring Sunshine Sammy Morrison.

The Smugglers

July 1916 •English

While honeymooning in Paris, wealthy John Battleby Watts is persuaded to purchase a $20,000 necklace for his capricious young wife. When the jeweler refuses to accept his check, John heads to the bank for the necessary funds. En route, he passes a little shop specializing in imitation jewelry. Figuring his wife will never know the difference, he buys a cheap duplicate of the 20-grand bauble. Later on, however, he reconsiders and purchases the genuine article. But before he can reach his hotel, John is detained by saucy chorus girl Rita Bori, whom he presents with what he thinks is the imitation necklace.

The Faded Flower

July 1916 •English

Lillian Hill, a poor stenographer, sacrifices her romance with an equally poor playwright, Henry Parker, to marry her boss Wilbur Mason. She does this only so that she will have the means to pay for surgery to restore her mother's sight. But the surgery is unsuccessful, and her coldness towards Mason arouses his jealousy.

Anna Karenina

October 1914 •Russian

An adaptation of the novel by Leo Tolstoy. Anna Karenina is having an extramarital affair that causes her grave consequences.

Die Zirkusgräfin

October 1912 •German

So fallen die Lose des Lebens

September 1918 •German